Who can claim Newman?

The beatification of John Henry, Cardinal Newman will be the centrepiece of the pope's visit to Britain this autumn. But his legacy is contested within the Catholic church. Depending on your angle, he is either a model for a liberal and fairly autonomous church, in which the believer's conscience is an authority higher than the pope, or a man whose example shows how the conscience can be educated and disciplined so that it would never disagree with the magisterium – and only then is it worthy of respect.

Was he a man who showed how the church might change, or one who showed that it never really changed, only deepened and developed? Or is his real message to the church the one left in his enigmatic grave, which turned out to contain nothing at all when his remains were to be reinterred in preparation for this autumn's ceremony. His spirit was not to be found there. But where would it lead us today?

Monday's response

Hugh O'Shaughnessy: Newman said 'To live is to change'. A timely reminder to those churchmen who love power and the status quo

Tuesday's response

Luke Coppen: Gandhi's love of Newman's hymn 'Lead, kindly Light' proves that the cardinal is not just for Catholics

Thursday's response

Martin Pendergast: Newman's legacy is an inclusive, diverse church, with a theology rooted in the practices of the community

Friday's response

Francis Davis: Catholics often fight their present battles using scripts from the past. But this pretence is a waste of time